Generally there is a 5 miles free space between two trains on a regular railway track. This free space and time can be utilized by these commuter cars to get people going on to their destinations. Essentially just hop into Paracité and drive up to the station and skip the train and wait for your turn; use the tracks till your destination and then drive off in it for the remainder of the journey.
There is 5 miles between regular freight trains because that's about what they need to get stopped. If there were 15 of these things on the tracks between two coal trains, guess which one would run out of gas? Now imagine what one of those spiffy black and orange BNSF
locomotives would look like with 15 of these things on the leading edge like big fiberglass bugs on the cowcatcher.
In some parts of the country, some folks have modified bicycles to run on (hopefully) abandoned railroad tracks, which gives you a nice tour of scenic back country un-bothered by traffic, except at grade crossings. The bikes run on bare rims, and have a third outrigger wheel, similar to the gizmo shown above to keep them aligned on the tracks. The railroads may no longer use the tracks, but they take a very dim view of this usage.
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